Lionel Messi to PSG ‘was a joke’ – Poch thought, Lampard leads Rodgers in next Newcastle manager odds – transfer latest

POLICE FRUSTRATED BY PREM RESPONSE ON ONLINE ABUSE

Manchester City, Brighton and Norwich are the only Premier League clubs to say they are willing to work with police to help players deal with online racist abuse.

Chief Con Mark Roberts wrote to all 92 clubs across the four divisions in the summer as the National Police Chief Council’s football lead.

But he was left disappointed by the commitment shown – with the lack of interest from the top flight particularly alarming.

Online hatred has surged since Euro 2020 and clubs have said they will take a firm stance to stamp it out.

But Roberts said: “We hear all the slogans, we hear all the commitment. But when we try to take some positive steps to support player and clubs, we need a bit more than words.

“Only 49 have come back with a positive response and so far only eight clubs have facilitated us getting the officers, PFA and Kick it Out in to speak to the players.”

RAHEEM: I NEED TO PLAY TO BE HAPPY

Raheem Sterling says he cannot be truly happy if he is not playing regularly and scoring goals.

So that explains why the last seven months have been so difficult for the Manchester City forward.

Despite starring for England at the Euros, Sterling has scored just twice in his last 26 appearances for the champions, many of which have been from the bench.

He lost his place for the big games after the Manchester derby defeat to United at the Etihad in early March.

And as a result City boss Pep Guardiola has made him a substitute for most of the key matches since, including recent league trips to Chelsea and Liverpool.

Sterling has started just four games so far this season, of which only two have been in the  League. And most of his opportunities have come as a No 9 — a position he is trying to perfect, although he knows it will take time.

Sterling said: “When I play football, that is where I get my happiness from. And, of course, with family as well but football has a special place in my heart.

“With everything that comes with football, money, being able to do nice things… at the end of the day, if football for me is not at a certain standard, I’m not really at my happiest.

“If I want my happiness at a certain level, I need to be playing football, I need to be scoring goals and enjoying myself.”

NEW DEVILS

Man Utd are being tipped to sign a new midfielder next summer as they look to bolster their already impressive squad.

But how would the Red Devils look with a fresh feel to the centre of their side?

Check out how United could line up next season:

POGBA AND HAZARD SHOULD BE ON TOON LIST

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Waddle called on old club Newcastle to dream big – by targeting players like Manchester United’s Paul Pogba and Real Madrid playmaker Eden Hazard, writes ETIENNE FERMIE.

Following their controversial Saudi takeover last week, Toon legend Waddle told SunSport: “Paul Pogba’s out of contract isn’t he?

“Now people might say about Newcastle — but money talks.

“If they sell the dream about what we’re going to win and achieve, it might.”

Ex-England winger Waddle, 60, added: “And then, do you raid the big teams?

“Your Bayern Munichs and teams like that and say ‘we want him, we want him’.

“Test them. Could you get somebody like Eden Hazard out from Real Madrid? On loan even until the end of the season and then pay a fee.

“Federico Chiesa, yes. Moussa Diaby. Anthony Martial, not fitting in to Manchester United — all available. Donny van de Beek.

“And then do you test teams like Arsenal for your people like Emile Smith Rowe?

“What about Kalvin Phillips at Leeds? Declan Rice. Marco Asensio at Real Madrid.”

I THOUGHT OUR MESSI BID WAS A ‘JOKE’

Mauricio Pochettino admits he thought PSG sporting director Leonardo was ‘joking’ when he revealed the French giants hoped to sign Lionel Messi.

PSG landed the legend on a two-year deal soon after Barcelona’s shock announcement they could no longer keep the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, 34.

Now PSG boss Pochettino has revealed: “Leonardo called me and said: ‘The possibility is there. Would you like it or not?’

“The good thing is that he called me to ask. I said to myself: ‘Is it a question?’ I thought it was a joke, no? 

“Everyone had assumed that Messi would continue at Barcelona,” Pochettino said.

“Many clubs, if not all clubs, dreamt of having Messi, with him being a free agent. 

From the moment that PSG showed an interest, Leo wanted to come here. Everything happened very fast.”

GIROUD TURNED DOWN ‘WEIRD’ SPURS MOVE

Ex-Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud claims he rejected Spurs over the summer because it would have been too “weird”.

The French World Cup winner, 35, who instead joined AC Milan, told the Mirror:“Tottenham was interested and Jose Mourinho (at Roma) was interested. 

“But I was so close to signing for Inter, for Lazio, I was desperate for game time

“Tottenham was there but, to be honest, it was not a clear option because the race for the Premier League top four made it difficult for anything to happen.

“But also in my heart, as a proper ex-Gunner, and as we always say: ‘Once a Gunner, always a Gunner.’

“It would have been very weird to have played Tottenham. That’s why it didn’t happen.”

NO OD GAMES

EXCLUSIVE: Callum Hudson-Odoi has told England boss Gareth Southgate he is not playing games over his international allegiance.

Questions have been raised about the Chelsea winger’s ambitions after he twice rejected call-ups to the England Under-21s.

Hudson-Odoi is also being courted by Ghana chiefs who hope he will switch flags and abandon England to feature more.

Players can now change national teams if they have played no more than three competitive games for one country before the age of 21.

Hudson-Odoi, 20, has three caps for the Three Lions – winning the last of them back in 2019.

But he held clear-the-air talks with the FA and assured bosses he is not holding them to ransom.

Hudson-Odoi said his sole focus is to become a key man for the Blues – in the hope it will earn him a senior recall.

‘BARCA AND MILAN IN FOR LINGARD’

Barcelona and AC Milan are tipped to join the race for Jesse Lingard when his Manchester United contract ends next summer.

The England midfielder is thought to have rejected a new United deal and is sure to interest Prem rivals such as former loan club West Ham.

Now ESPN say a string of European outfits are also on Lingard’s trail.

Clubs outside England can negotiate with the 28-year-old from January 1.

STERLING ‘OPEN’ TO CITY EXIT

Raheem Sterling is open to a move away from Manchester City if he is not given assurances of regular football.

And the England ace says playing abroad is still something that appeals to him amid interest from Barcelona and others.

SunSport revealed on Tuesday that the former Liverpool man, 26, has put contract talks on hold at the Etihad after a difficult few months.

Sterling has less than two years left on his existing deal and wants to know how much he will play before committing to a new one.

The star is happy to adapt to playing as a striker for City, rather than his normal left-wing role — but needs game time to improve in that position.

Three-time Prem title winner Sterling said: “If there was the option to go somewhere else for more game time, I would be open to it.

“Football is the most important thing to me — challenges that I have set myself from a young age and dreams as well.

“As an English player, all I know is the Premier League.

“I’ve always thought maybe one day I’d love to play abroad — see how I would come up against that challenge.”

Barca are monitoring his situation and could make a move in January, although Etihad sources indicate the club will not sanction a move mid- season.

STAVELEY: TOON WILL SPLASH OUT

Newcastle director Amanda Staveley has vowed to provide her new club with ‘heavy investment’.

But the businesswoman admits Newcastle “can’t have the world’s greatest players with a really terrible changing room”.

Toon fans have been pinching themselves since last week’s stunning £300million Saudi takeover.

Boss Steve Bruce is expected to be sacked soon.

And it could even happen before this weekend’s game against Tottenham, with Frank Lampard tipped to come in.

Meanwhile, a host of top talents have been linked with moving to the North-East.

Chelsea’s Timo Werner is the latest to be lined up by ambitious Newcastle.

But Staveley says the new consortium will be providing a balanced injection of cash. That’s because it’s not just Newcastle’s squad that needs fixing, but behind the scenes too.

However, Staveley told The Chronicle: “We’re going to invest, heavily, obviously. But we have to do it within the confines of the rules of the Premier League.”

IS HAALAND PERLING YOUR LEG WITH TREBLE TRICKSHOT?

Manchester United and City target Erling Haaland bamboozled social media with a crazy penalty trickshot… but did he fake it?

The Borussia Dortmund striker somehow managed to balance three footballs on top of each other, carefully placing them in position.

At the first attempt, the second ball rolled off – giving the impression he managed to get the physics just right next time around.

With the three footballs seemingly standing freely, he took a few paces back and then stepped up to sidefoot the highest ball into a target in the top left corner with that lethal left foot of his.

The other two balls remained perfectly stacked up – and Haaland, kitted out in full Dortmund gear, repeated the trick twice more to obliterate the target and reacted in apparent shock at pulling it off.

The Bundesliga’s official Twitter account posted the 38-second clip on Thursday afternoon and within four hours it had racked up 5.5million views.

But while it looked mightily impressive, fans on social media were not sure whether the shots were quite as authentic as they appeared.

One wrote: “The fact that none of the balls fell off when he hit the top one is… hard to believe.”

FA CHARGE HASENHUTTL

Ralph Hasenhuttl has been charged by the FA for comments about Mike Dean after Southampton’s 3-1 loss at Chelsea on October 2.

He advised referee Martin Atkinson to check the monitor for a possible red card against James Ward-Prowse for a foul on Jorginho.

Atkinson proceeded to do so and then upgraded the yellow card he had awarded to the Saints skipper to a straight sending-off.

Hasenhuttl joked in his Zoom press conference later: “You know that when Mike Dean is the VAR, he will send him to have a look at it (the monitor) – and then it was okay from me, I think. He gave it. But this is his job, I don’t want to say it is his fault because I haven’t seen it so far…”

The Austrian has now been slapped with the prospect of a fine for his words and Saints have until Tuesday to appeal it, though it seems unlikely they will.

NO DEJA BLUE IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Ex-Chelsea defender Frank Lebeouf warns fans it is ‘almost impossible’ for the club win the Champions League again this season.

The Blues won their second ever Champions League trophy in May, overcoming Manchester City 1-0 in Porto thanks to a goal from Kai Havertz.

But former Chelsea centre-back Lebeouf, 53, has warned the club not to get their hopes up again, suggesting they were ‘lucky’ to win last year.

Lebeouf told Labrokes: “A failure for a big club like Chelsea, Liverpool or both from Manchester is to win nothing.

“I’m not sure if any of the fans of those four clubs would be happy with just the Carabao Cup. 

“The club doesn’t care about it and the fans don’t care about it, what they want is at least the FA Cup, if not the Premier League or Champions League.

“Only one team can win each competition, though, and Chelsea have been lucky enough to win the Champions League last season but it was kind of a miracle really.

“Tuchel came in and changed some stuff and it worked and nobody expected Chelsea to win. 

“Right now an FA Cup would be nice for Chelsea and the Premier League or the Champions League would be absolutely fantastic.

“The Champions League is the most unrealistic of the three because it was only Real Madrid that was able to win it three times consecutively.

“I would love Chelsea to win it just two times in a row but this is why it is unrealistic.

“Chelsea won it last season and to win it again would be great but almost impossible if we read the stats.”

AGREE WITH FERGIE?

Alex Ferguson has stirred up fierce social media debate by claiming Arsenal’s unbeaten 2003-4 Premier League season to win the title “stands above anything else”.

That’s quite something coming from a Manchester United boss who won the Treble amid fierce rival with Arsene Wenger’s Gunners.

It’s difficult to compare or measure such outstanding achievements but few could doubt Arsenal’s Invincibles’ campaign holds an iconic fascination.

And the documentary movie Arsene Wenger: Invincible’ is out next month.

STILL THE TOP DROG

Didier Drogba is arguably Chelsea’s greatest ever striker.

And at 43, three years after his retirement, the Ivory Coast icon remains a powerful presence and poacher up front – as shown by this treble for a Marseille legends team.

‘RON BOOSTS CHANCES OF POGBA STAYING’

Paul Pogba is no longer the biggest name in town after the return of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United this summer.

But reports say the France international ‘loves’ having CR7 alongside him at Old Trafford.

And that is thought to have done United’s chances of agreeing a new deal with the midfielder the world of good.

The Athletic reports Ronaldo’s arrival has reinvigorated Pogba, who is also enjoying more of an attacking role in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans.

The 28-year-old is into the final year of his contract at Old Trafford.

The likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus have joined long-time suitors Real Madrid in circling for his signature.

Pogba is allowed to talk to foreign clubs in January with the threat of leaving United on a free transfer next summer.

He recently revealed he still speaks to former Juve team-mates but signalled he would wait until the end of the season to decide his future.

UEFA TO PROBE ‘RACIST ABUSE’ AT ELANGA

Uefa will investigate an incident of alleged racist abuse aimed at Manchester United’s Anthony Elanga.

The alleged incident is said to have occurred at the end of Sweden’s Under-21 Euros qualifier against Italy on Tuesday.

Elanga, who was taken off in the 72nd minute, was involved in an incident with opposition players after the final whistle.

And the Swedish Football Association claim that the United winger, 19, was racially abused by an Italian player.

European soccer’s governing body said in a statement: “In accordance with Article 31(4) of the Uefa Disciplinary Regulations, a Uefa Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has been appointed to conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding the incidents.”

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC), however, has denied the allegations.

They said: “The FIGC categorically denies that an opponent was subject to racist abuse by an Under-21 National Team player during yesterday’s match.

“We understand that no such incident was observed by the match officials or the UEFA delegate.”

ON CLOUD NINE

A host of Premier League clubs have chipped in to hire a private jet to get their South American stars back in time to play this weekend.

The Daily Mail says Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City are ‘understood to be involved in clubbing together for an aircraft’ which costs ‘six figures’.

Brazil’s World Cup qualifying clash with Uruguay will kick off at 1:30am on Friday UK time.

That has nine players from England’s top-flight involved, and they will take off immediately after the clash in Manaus.

United striker Edinson Cavani and midfielder Fred, Man City’s goalkeeper Ederson and forward Gabriel Jesus plus Liverpool pair Alisson and Fabinho will all be on-board.

And the report claims that Leeds United’s Raphinha is also expected to fly back too.

Chelsea star Thiago Silva and Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz are set to travel home as well.

JESSE: BRUNO’S GOT MY BACK

Jesse Lingard has revealed the overwhelming support he has received from his Manchester United midfield team-mate Bruno Fernandes during his troubled past season and a half.

England ace Lingard is tipped to exit Old Trafford when his contract runs out next summer, despite returning from West Ham following a successful half-term on loan.

The 28-year-old wrote in The Players’ Tribune: “After that Bruno Fernandes referred to me as the ‘best player in the Premier League’ in an interview with United … me!!

“Can you believe that?!? That’s coming from Bruno!

“I’ve got a lot of love for Bruno. He was dropping me messages of support throughout my loan.

“To get that recognition from someone at his level was just amazing.”

BA BOOT SALE

It’s usually a life of fast cars and private jets for professional footballers.

But Demba Ba has revealed how he once had to hide in a car boot to force a transfer to West Ham.

The Senegal striker was desperate to move to the Premier League from Hoffenheim back in 2011.

With the Hammers then embroiled in a relegation battle, bosses at Upton Park were desperate to keep news of Ba’s arrival a secret.

That meant he had to rely on a friend to smuggle him into the training ground to avoid being spotted by any waiting reporters.

Ba told The Athletic: “They said they didn’t want journalists to find out, so I obeyed.

“It wasn’t the biggest boot. It was like ‘boom, boom’, I’m hitting my head at every corner.”

Ba joined West Ham in January 2011 after seeing a move to Stoke fall through when Potters medical staff discovered a problem with his knee.

WAYNE EXPECTS GAIN FOR KANE AFTER PAIN

Wayne Rooney has backed Harry Kane to recover from his current dip in form.

And the Manchester United legend says he can think of hundreds of reasons why Kane, 28, will soon be scoring for club and country.

The Spurs striker suffered a rare international substitution after failing to sparkle in England’s 1-1 draw with Hungary on Tuesday, and has yet to get off the mark in the Premier League this season.

But England’s greatest ever marksman Rooney insists Kane is still the man he expects to join Alan Shearer and himself in the Premier League’s exclusive 200-goals club.

The Derby County boss said: “Harry Kane is one of the best strikers in the world but when you don’t score, unfortunately, people have their opinions, which they’re entitled to of course.

“Personally I think it’s a bit of an over-reaction if I’m honest because it’s the first game for a while he hasn’t scored for England.

“Even for Tottenham he’s still scored a few goals this season, although not in the Premier League.

“However Harry is a good enough player and a big enough person to come through this little sticky period.

“All strikers go through moments where you don’t score. Tottenham are not in the best vein of form themselves and that’s down to the team.

“The moment Harry gets his first goal in the Premier League he’ll get back to scoring on a regular basis.”

BRIGHTON ROCKED BY WELBECK AND ALZATE INJURIES

Brighton have been rocked by serious injuries to Danny Welbeck and Steven Alzate.

Both players picked up their respective problems in the 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace before the international break and both required surgery.

Striker Welbeck, 30, has damaged his hamstring while midfielder Alzate, 23, hurt his ankle.

Both are expected to be out for a considerable amount of time.

Albion boss Graham Potter said: “It’s (Danny’s) hamstring. It’s been ongoing a bit and in the end surgery seemed to be the best solution for him.

“Obviously it’s devastating for Danny and for us. We’re disappointed, of course.

“He’s had the surgery, it all went well. He’ll be back stronger than ever, I think.

“It’s just going to take a bit of time for that process to happen, same with Steven.

“Steven’s is his ankle when he fell awkwardly. It’s really disappointing for them.

“But what I’ve got to think about is how to help them recover and come back stronger.”

UTD NAME RON PLAYER OF MONTH

Cristiano Ronaldo has completed a September player-of-the-month double to underline his remarkable return to Manchester United.

After winning the Premier League award, United handed the 36-year-old their own gong.

That was certainly a less controversial choice than the Prem made – as many felt Mo Salah’s all-round attacking contribution for Liverpool had edged out Ron’s goal-getting.

SULE AND COUTINHO ‘ON TOON WISHLIST’

Newcastle are reportedly tracking Niklas Sule and Philippe Coutinho as they look to flex their new financial muscles.

German newspaper Bild claims the Magpies are considering January moves for the pair following their blockbuster Saudi-led takeover.

Bayern Munich centre-back Sule has 37 caps for Germany and is into the final year of his contract with the Bundesliga giants.

The 26-year-old would be free to sign a pre-contract agreement on Tyneside ahead of a move next summer if a deal cannot be done in January.

Brazil forward Coutinho has struggled to settle at Barcelona since moving to Catalonia from Liverpool in 2018.

He knows Sule from his time on loan at Bayern after spending the 2019-20 season temporarily at the Allianz Arena.

The 29-year-old is being eyed along with Chelsea’s Timo Werner as Newcastle’s new owners look to reinvent their attacking options.

EVRA’S LOVE AND WAR WITH VIDIC

Patrice Evra has revealed he once went “three months” without speaking to fellow Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic – forcing boss Alex Ferguson to CHANGE Rio Ferdinand’s position so that the defence could still communicate properly.

Evra told United’s official website: “We had a fight, and didn’t speak.

“We played together and we didn’t even say a word. I never told him to go left or go right. He was the same.

“Ferguson had to swap Rio Ferdinand to play on the left side with me.

“It was like that for three months until, after a game, I remember he came to me in the dressing room and gave me a high-five.

“Everyone was like ‘finally’ because we were best friends together, Vida and me. We have a deep story together.

“I love him so much. We struggled but we were really real, me and him.

“If we were doing something wrong, we’d argue but, in the same way, it was a really great relationship.”